Fireline

If I were you, I'd ask Simon Kohler about that. That would be news to him, I'm led to believe....

Oh, Sam. Mr "I give anything from Hornby an absolute kicking, coincidentally from around the time they stopped just giving me stuff to review...."

A lot of the problems with these seem to be down to the R0 resistor on the PCB failing. I've taken to opening my locos, and replacing the resistor with a piece of single core copper wire. Not had a problem with one since I've started doing that.

They are glued in, but using a very light glue, so they are easy to remove. This was apparently done to stop them detaching while they were in transit from the Far East.

One thing to consider. We always say "Hornby" and look at the model rail situation on here. However, the last time they had a massive overstock, it was mostly Airfix. The stock held will be right across the brands, not just model rail. The part we are interested in only forms part of the problem.

Better that the errors are on the the EP than on the production models...

The first versions sold well, so Hornby ordered a bunch more. The second batch sold a lot more slowly, because by then a lot of people who wanted a J15 already had one. The boiler hand rail was a tooling compromise rather than a mistake or foul up.

It's a re-release of an older model. What did you expect?

The previous regime authorised a lot of investment in tooling. That results in higher costs, but those costs are spread over 3-4 years. What that means is that your tooling never pays for itself in year 1. A big increase in tooling in year 1 means carrying higher tooling costs through years 2-4, with no "new" models to show for it.

Also check that the two screws that hold the motor mount are done up properly.

The new range launch is live. Could Hornby only afford a monotone presenter?

Have you actually asked Phoenix, or is this based on supposition?

"Dear Ford, I appreciate that this Focus was nicked, but the mats are still missing. I expect you to sort it out".......

Hornby underestimated demand....

The ultra serious, rivet counting, end of the hobby might carry on. However, the "Grandad buys granchild a train set, and they get into modelling" end of the hobby would seriously suffer. How many times do we hear things like train sets referred to as a "Hornby" by those who aren't in the know? Funnily enough, it's sales of bread and butter train sets that allow companies like Hornby to do the better stuff. In any event, I am reminded of a certain Monty Python moment on this thread. You're all bringing out the corpse when it's loudly protesting that it's not dead yet.